Details

It's all about the trim. Roger puts so much time into figuring out the trim work for any project. And those little details are what make me love our house. He's doing it again in my trailer. And the exciting part is that I can finally start to see this space coming together!

 

This is the first completed window. Look! It has a window ledge! More space for me to display more stuff! I might even put a sacrificial plant in the window. It will look great until I manage to kill it...

 

 

See how the there is a little ledge at the top of the wainscoting? That will go all around the trailer. More space for stuff!

 

 

He worked on the other windows tonight, too. By the time he finished up for the night, they were completely trimmed out. These windows are going to be way too pretty to cover with curtains. I'm thinking that valances will be enough.

 

 

Remember the completely amazing metal table leaves I bought this past spring? They're next up to be mounted.

 

 

If you look closely, you can see a penciled letter "C" on the wood. That's the center line. The leaves fit into the space absolutely perfectly! Still my most favorite part of this trailer!

I was down at the flea market/antique mall this afternoon and found these three crisper drawers. The plan is to somehow incorporate these drawers into a storage cabinet. I'm excited to see what Roger comes up with. My favorite drawer is the one that says "Hydrator". It's hard to see in this picture, the other two have blue flowers on the handle of the one of the left and the one on the right says "crisper" on the drawer handle.

It is FINISHED!

So, after sitting in our living room 95% finished for at least a year, the Gym Dandy Surrey restoration is complete! I finally figured out how and got up the nerve to sew that canopy! Cutting into a big piece of canvas like that is not to be taken lightly, you know! Roger is very happy to see it done. He did his part with the wood and metal, and he's been on me ever since to do my part with the fabric.

I used this table cover tutorial as a guideline for sewing the corners, and added a little dart where the top of the surrey peaks. This makes the sides of the canopy come down a little further than the original canopy would have, but I like the deeper look. I sewed bits of ribbon at each of the four corners and at the two peak darts so that the canopy can be tied into place. I didn't want a gust of Kansas wind to rip off the canopy and send it flying into the next county! Finally, I used my serger to finish the bottom edge of the canopy before sewing the tasseled fringe into place.

And, then we entered it in the parade! The girls got third place in Saturday's kiddie parade. I wanted to see it in the parade at least once before we offer it up for sale. Our driver was a pro, but her legs were tired when she was done!

We've had several people ask where we got parts and graphics for our Gym Dandy Surrey restoration. We recommend Cowboys & Kidillacs.

More great finds at Nifty Thrifty and Thriftasaurus.

Still working!

Roger has been after me to get some more photos of the trailer remodel posted. He says we have stalkers and need to keep them happy. So, I apologize to our stalkers for my tardiness! These are pictures from the end of April. Roger has done even more work, but I haven't gotten those photos uploaded yet.

He began replacing the three vents in the roof of the Streamline. While he's installing them, he's also polishing the area around them. This is a very good way to get a sun burn. It's kind of like sunbathing with a pie tin in front of your face.

This is how he's been accessing the roof. He's also been actually on the roof which is quite scary!

The closets and shelves are painted, except for the insides.

The Pyrex Friendship pattern has been my color inspiration for the trailer. I think I nailed the colors!

Busy weekend!

It was not my original intention to attend any auctions this past weekend. However, when my Aunt Fern sent me the sale bill for an auction in Burns, I had to at least take a look. Well, the photos were too tempting, and I spent a bit of my childhood in this part of the state, so I couldn't resist driving out there. I'm glad I did. I didn't buy a lot. There were dealers there with deeper pockets than I. But, I got to see some of my favorite countryside and visit with an old friend.

I purchased a handful of these little advertising cards at the auction. Each one is two-sided and about the size of a playing card. They're amusing, especially if you have ever been to Burns. It's a tiny place! The school that I attended in the early 80s is no longer there. The bank that was there literally fell down. Parts of the movie "Mars Attacks!" were filmed there. But back in the old days it had a newspaper, a "fine City Hall", three churches, a "good catholic school", and was free from cyclones and crop failures! Not to mention that nearly all the farmers had telephones! Quite the progressive place!

I also bought this birdcage and stand. It's filthy! But absolutely fabulous! It needs a very serious hose down. I'm hoping I can get it into shape for the Red Barn Outdoor Market this coming Saturday. I also picked up a box of Christmas decorations, some wooden spinning tops, a pink aluminum canister and breadbox set, some silhouette pictures, tv trays, a toy ironing board and another vintage samsonite suitcase.

More vintage finds at Thriftasaurus!

Sunday afternoon, we went back to work on the trailer. Painting is one of my favorite parts, because the results are so dramatic. Roger won't let me paint. He's way too particular, and frankly, I don't have the steady hand that he does. I am, however, allowed to prime.

I am pretty proud of myself for picking out truly red paint. That is real red. Fire engine red! Cherry red! "Whore's lipstick" red. Thanks, Roger. That primer work on the inside is all me! The inside of the closets will be the same aqua blue as the ceiling. And, we will be putting doors back on them.

Just a reminder of what the closet looked like "before". Black is not an easy color of paint to cover up. But, I bet red won't be easy either!

If you want to see more before and during pictures of our Streamline remodel, you can check it out on Flickr. Here's the link.

Auction Burn

Finally! An outdoor farm auction full of bargains, treasures, beautiful weather and.....sunburn. When you show up at an auction wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt, a sweatshirt and a vest, sunburn isn't really on your mind. And, then you start to shed the layers, and at about 1:00 in the afternoon, you notice that sizzling sensation on your neck. I came home Saturday with a carload of treasures and burned face and neck. And it was totally worth it.

This cannister set was the highlight of my day. I'm standing next to a trailer full of garage junk, and one of the guys starts pulling these beauties out of their original, ugly, water-stained box. The original plastic was flaking off of them. My heart nearly stopped. I had no idea they were even on that wagon! That color! I've had them for four days and they still give me butterflies!

I love picnic tins. This one is in perfect condition. Definitely a no-brainer.

These little trays are collapsible, and their gridded tops make me think they were meant for being used outdoors. They're rusty, but I'm thinking a can of spray paint would fix them right up!

Not one, but TWO yellow Lustroware cookie cannisters! Perfect condition, just need a bit of cleaning.

If you go to enough auctions, the auctioneers start to know your taste. Saturday's auctioneer is of the opinion that I like the "ugly stuff". Like these beauties! There was a display case full of costume jewelry, a pocket watch, that sort of thing. The bidding was for choice item. I let them first several rounds go, because the bidding was high for the more desireable pieces. Finally, I was the only bidder at $1. The auctioneer looked at me and said, "You want that green one, don't you?" I said, "Can I have the matching earrings, too?"

This is probably my second favorite find from Saturday's auction, and they were free!! This partial box of Kordite Freze Boxes was in a big box full of vintage kitchen utensils. I was bidding, but I'm cheap and the box went for a decent price. I approached the winning bidder and asked if I could buy the boxes from her for a dollar. She told me I could have them! I love the cute graphics and colors.

More vintage goodies at Thriftasaurus!

Three's a Collection

I didn't set out to collect toy toasters. I don't think anyone sets out to collect toy toasters; it just happens. One day, I was at the flea market and saw the toaster with the rooster. Plaid is fun and roosters are fun. I brought it home and it sat in my kitchen for about a year.

A few weeks ago, I spotted the blue toaster at the same flea market. It's in crazy good shape and such a great color. It had to come home with me.

Today, Roger was restocking our booth at the antique mall and saw the red toaster in a display. Red is my color, you know, so he brought it home, too.

And, that, my friends, is how you start a collection.

See more thrifty finds at Young Heart's weekly link-up!

Recent Finds

Been a while since I posted, but that doesn't mean we haven't been adding to our stash! So, many things, and I've been trying to clean up the house a bit, too. Not easy when you've got a lot of vintage treasures sitting around.

I have a cousin who is an avid garage saler and has a great eye for vintage stuff. She brings me treasures now and then. Today, she brought me this fantastic Samsonite travel case. I have never had a round one. She also gave me this avocado green Disc-Go-Case for holding all my 45s. (I don't have any 45s, other than the ones that came with the case.) I'm just thrilled because it says, "Disc-Go-Case" on the top!

My mom and I spent the morning at an auction a few weeks ago. I fell in love with this hatbox the minute I saw it. The orange, green and black masquerade graphics are so unique! I think this would make a great Halloween display case. The lid is in less than stellar condition, and I might have overpaid, but I couldn't help myself!

These salt and pepper shakers won me over with their creepy coolness. They're Humpty Dumpty twins! (Still a bit dirty, but nothing that won't clean up!)

Both of these satin aprons are from Ft. George G. Meade in Maryland. I'd never seen souvenir aprons like these before. They definitely need a good steaming, but I have high hopes for both of them!

A sweetheart pillow cover from Camp Wood, TX. I believe it World War II era.

Another pillow cover. This one is a souvenir cover from New Mexico. I liked the cowboy and Indian imagery.

And, three more souvenir pillow covers from Washington, DC, Los Angeles and New York. I think one of these will be kept for the camper. Just have to choose which one!